Sancho II Sánchez of Gascony

Sancho II Sánchez or Sans II Sancion [His name appears in many forms: French "Sanche-Sanchez", Gascon "Sans Sancion", and Castilian as "Sancho Sanción" or "Sánchez".] (died 864) succeeded his brother Aznar Sánchez as count of "Vasconia Citerior" (Gascony) in 836, in spite of the objections of Pepin I, King of Aquitaine.

After Pepin's death in 838, confusion enveloped southern Gaul. Most Aquitainian counts elected Pepin II as their king, but the emperor, Louis the Pious, urged by his wife Judith, redivided his vast realm at Worms, granting all of Aquitaine, Gascony, Septimania, and the Hispanic March to his youngest son, Charles in May 839. Louis sent an imperial army into the Limousin and then installed his son at Poitiers. The partisans of Pepin were defeated and Louis proceeded to appoint new counts in new districts. One Seguin was appointed in Bordeaux to counter Sancho, now acting virtually alone.

In 845, Seguin joined the faction of Pepin and was made "dux Wasconum" — that is, duke of the march guarding the frontier with the Gascons, led by Sancho. In 848, Bordeaux was left without a leader after the withdrawal of the Vikings. It is not known for sure if Sancho took possession of the city, but it is certainly possible. Ferdinand Lot supposed that Sancho was even nominated as duke at Limoges or Orléans by Charles in that year. [Higounet, p 39 n57.] He certainly submitted by 850. [Lewis, p 98.] With his brother-in-law, wife of his sister Sancha, Emenon, Count of Périgord, Sancho was captured by the dissident Moorish chieftain Musa. Charles negotiated their release and in turn Sancho handed over Pepin II when the latter took refuge in Gascony in September 852. [Higounet, p 39. The chronology here is confused and the chief Moorish offensive should probably be dated to 856, leaving open the sequence and veracity of the related event.]

In 864, Sancho died and the dukeship of Gascony passed to his nephew Arnold, son of Emenon. The later duke García Sánchez may have been his son. __NOTOC__

Notes

ources

Primary

*Pertz, G, ed. "Chronici Fontanellensis fragmentum" in Mon. Ger. Hist. Scriptores, Vol. II.
*Pertz, G, ed. "Chronicum Aquitanicum" in Mon. Ger. Hist. Scriptores, Vol. II.
*Waitz, E, ed. "Annales Bertiniani". Hanover: 1883.

econdary

*Higounet, Charles. "Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age". Bordeaux, 1963.
*Lewis, Archibald R. "The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050". University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.